Month: October 2022

Leaders from 44 European countries met Thursday in Prague in the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community, a new regional group seeking to find strategies to address shared concerns such as energy, the economy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The group was the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and includes all 27 members of the European Union, plus 17 other nations, some of which are seeking EU membership. The only two European nations not invited were Russia and its neighboring ally Belarus. In remarks to open the meeting, Macron said the group’s existence is aimed at sending a …

READ MORE

Turkey’s disinformation bill is one step closer to being signed into law, despite protests by the country’s media. Parliamentary debate on the “proposal on the amendment of the press law and other laws” started Tuesday. The Turkish government says the bill, suggested in May by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its alliance partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is needed to tackle the “serious threat” from disinformation. The draft of 40 articles includes punishments for “spreading misleading information” on national security, public order and health in an attempt to spread panic or fear; requirements for social media …

READ MORE

EU lawmakers on Thursday condemned the crackdown on media freedom in military-ruled Myanmar and called for the release of “every unfairly detained journalist.” Since the military seized power in February last year, it has forced at least 12 media outlets to shut down and arrested about 142 journalists, 57 of whom remain detained.  Most of those still detained are being held under an incitement charge for allegedly causing fear, spreading false news or agitating against a government employee. In its resolution adopted by show of hands, the EU Parliament cited the cases of BBC freelance producer Htet Htet Khine; Sithu …

READ MORE

Sweden’s domestic security agency said Thursday that its initial investigation into explosions last week along two Russian natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “has strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause. Separately, a Swedish prosecutor said that “seizures have been made at the crime scene and these will now be investigated,” although he did not identify the seized evidence. Neither of the underwater Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines had been in use at the time of the blasts but for days sent methane from the pipes bubbling to the surface off the coasts …

READ MORE

Greece’s coast guard said Thursday at least 15 people were dead after two boats carrying migrants sank in separate incidents.  Authorities said one boat carrying about 40 people went down near the eastern island of Lesbos, near Turkey.  Fifteen bodies were recovered and five people were rescued, with a search ongoing for the rest of the migrants.  A second boat went down off the island of Kythira after hit rocks.  Authorities said they rescued 30 people from the second boat.  Both vessels were operating amid winds as high as 100 kilometers per hour.  Migrants typically reach Greece form neighboring Turkey, …

READ MORE

Amid unconfirmed reports that a train operated by Russia’s nuclear division was spotted heading toward Ukraine, the White House says that it has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons experts tell VOA if Russia is moving nuclear weapons toward the Ukrainian border, the United States will know. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …

READ MORE

For the first time in 20 years, a Russian cosmonaut rocketed from the U.S. on Wednesday, launching to the International Space Station alongside NASA and Japanese astronauts despite tensions over the war in Ukraine.  Their SpaceX flight was delayed by Hurricane Ian, which ripped across the state last week.  “I hope with this launch we will brighten up the skies over Florida a little bit for everyone,” said the Japan Space Agency’s Koichi Wakata, who is making his fifth spaceflight.  Joining him on a five-month mission are three new to space: Marine Col. Nicole Mann, the first Native American woman …

READ MORE

Greece is warning it is ready to use all its diplomatic and military might to defend its sovereignty against what it calls hostile plans by its historic foe Turkey. The direct warning follows a controversial energy deal Turkey recently signed with an element of Libya’s divided government. But the tensions that have been building up recently between the two NATO allies is sparking fears of a crisis that could spill out of control and destabilize the military alliance. Speaking to Greece’s parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advised Turkey to return, in his words, to a realm of logic. Otherwise, he …

READ MORE